Spring-fork for wheeled vehicles.



0. R. KITTLE & J. w. GATES.

SPRING FORK FOR WHEELEDVEHIULBS.

APPLICATION FILED Mums. 1910.

'- 979,674, PatntedDec.27, 1910.

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C. R; KITTLE & J. W. GATES. SPRING FORK FOB, WHEELED VEHICLES.APPLICATION FILED MAILZB, 1910.

979,674. Patented Dec. 27, 1910.

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CHARLES R. KITTLE AND JOHN W. GATES, F LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA; SAIDGATES ASSIGNOR TO B. K. HOLMES, OF LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA.

SPRING-FORK FOR VTI-IEELEID VEHICLES.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Dec. 27, 1910.

Application filed March 28, 1910. Serial No. 551,929.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that we, CHARLES R. Krr'rnn, and JOHN W. GATES, bothcitizens of the United States, residing in the city of Los Angeles,county of Los Angeles, State of California, have invented new and usefulImprovements in Spring-Forks for Wheeled Vehicles, of which thefollowing is a speci fication.

Our invention relates to the front fork of such vehicles as motor cyclesand bicycles. When the front wheel of a motor cycle or bicycle passesover an obstruction on the roadway, or into a depression therein theforward motion of the front wheel is somewhat retarded, and the wheelmust rise to pass over the obstruction or out of the depression.

Our invention is designed to provide a front fork of such constructionthat the front wheel may rise as it passes over an obstruction on theroadway or into and out of a depression therein without the otherportions of the frame rising, thereby causing the minimum amount of arto the rider on the machine.

A further object is to provide a frontfork of simple and compactconstruction which will be cheap to manufacture.

We accomplish these objects by the front fork described herein andillustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which Figure 1 is a sideelevation of a motor cycle equipped with our improved front fork. Fig. 2is a fragmental side elevation of a part of the front wheel and forkwith a part cut away for clearness of illustration, the out being on theline, 22 of Fig. 8. Fig. 3 is a rear view of theparts shown in Fig. 2with other parts in central section and parts broken away. Figs. 4 and 5are sectional details showing the manner of connecting certain of theparts to the fork. Figs. 6 and 7 illustrate a modified form.

In the drawings we have shown our improved front fork as applied tomotor cycle 10 and will describe it as applied to such a machine. Thefront fork 11 of the motor cycle is of any of the approved makes. Thelower ends of the legs of the front fork are pivotally connected at 12to rocking bars 13 which are pivotally mounted at their other ends uponaxle 14 which carries the front wheel 15. To the legs of the front forkare secured spring barrels 16 by means of braces 17 and 18 which arepreferably of unequal length, the lower brace being longer than theupper one in order to'cause the lower end f the legs of the fork toproject in front of a vertical plane that passes through the axle of thewheel. A U-shaped frame or yoke 19 is mounted upon the axle of the frontwheel and is a little broader than the width of the legs of the fork, asbest shown in Fig. 3. In the upper corners of the yoke. and rigidlysecured thereto by brazing or welding are metallic carrying blocks 20which are vertically bored for the reception of the upper end of plungerstems 21., as best shown in Fig. 4:. of each plunger stem 21 is plunger22 which has a working fit '.i the spring barrels. The upper ends of thespring barrels are closed by plugs 23 having central apertures throughwhich the plunger stems pass. Coiled around the plunger stems betweenthe plunger-s and the plugs are coil springs 24. The lower ends of thespring barrels are closed by plugs 25 and between these plugs and theplungers are the recoil springs 26. Plunger stems 21 are mounted in thecarrying blocks by means of pins or bolts 27 whose outer ends are screwthreaded and pass througl the carrying blocks and as to one side thereofare in threaded contact therewith as best shown in Fig. 4:. These pinsare smooth where they pass through the plunger stems. The extreme outerend of these pins is square as best shown in F 5 and after they aresecured in place they are held from accidental rotation by a spring 28which is secured to the yoke 19 by rivet 2-9. This spring has its outerends turned upwardly to lie in a plane at right angles to the top of theyoke and the ends are bifurcated so as to snap over pins 27 and holdthem against rotation as shown in Figs. 3, 4:, and

In the operation of a vehicle equipped with our front fork, when anobstruction, or a depression is passed over, as the front wheel passesover, or into and out of the same, it passes upwardly and rearn-ardly,turning on the pivotal connection on the front fork and the rocking barswithout affecting to any great extent the front end of the frame, as thesprings 24- yield to allow of the uprise of the wheel without affectingthe elevation of the frame. The recoil springs 26 neutralize thereaction or recoil of springs 24. It will hp observed that our Upon thelower end improvement can be applied to the front fork of any standardmachine without changing the construction of the same, as the springbarrels can be suitably attached thereto and the rocking bar willconnect the regular front fork to the axle and the yoke frame can bemounted thereon in the same manner that the front fork is now mounted.It will also be observed that the rocking bars are a part of the frontmember making the same a jointed front member which is mounted on theaxle of the front wheel. The front member 11 is the steering member andis revolubly mounted in the front part of the frame 30.

In Figs. 6 and 7 we have illustrated a modification of our improvement.In this modified form spring barrels 31 form a part of the U-shapedmember 32, which member is secured upon the front axle 14:, andcorresponds to member 19. Plunger stems 33 project through the upper endof the spring barrels and are provided with plungers 3 1 which areadjustable upon the plunger stems. On these plunger stems are alsomounted loose plungers 35 which serve as a guide to the lower end of theplunger stems. Below the guide plunger and surrounding the lower end ofthe plunger stem is a coiled spring 36, and between the guide plunger 35and adjustable plunger 34 is another coil spring 37. These two springsconstitute compression springs and sustain the normal weight of theframe. Above the adjustable plungers 34 is a rebound spring 38. Theplunger stems 33 are pivotally secured upon the front fork 11 by bolt39. The lower ends of the legs of the front fork are connected to thefront axle by rocking bars 13. The operation of the parts is the same asin the other construction.

Having described our invention what we claim is:

1. An improved front fork for a wheeled vehicle comprising an U-shapedframe mounted upon the axle of the front wheel and extendlng upwardlyand over the wheel; a bifurcated front member; rocking bars mounted uponthe axle of the front wheel and pivotally connected to the lower ends ofthe bifurcated member; spring barrels connected to the legs of thebifurcated member at the rear thereof; plungers within said springbarrels, said plungers having stems extending upwardly to and pivotallyconnected with the U-shaped frame; coiled springs within said barrelsaround said plunger stems; removable closures for the lower ends of saidspring barrels; and coiled springs between said closures and saidplungers.

2. An improved fork for a wheeled vehicle comprising a bifurcated frontmember operatively mounted in the frame of the vehicle and upon the axleof the wheel, the legs of said front member being jointed, an U-shapedmember mounted upon the axle of the wheel and extending over said wheeland being located behind the front member, ind a resilient connectionbetween said memers.

3. In a wheeled vehicle, a frame; a steering post member revolublymounted in the forward part of said frame, said steering post membercomprising a bifurcated front member, the legs of which are jointed, andmounted upon the axle of the front wheel, and an U-shaped member at therear of the front member mounted upon the axle of the front wheel andextending over said wheel, and a resilient connection between saidbifurcated and U-shaped members.

In witness that we claim the foregoing we have hereunto subscribed ournames this 2nd day of March, 1910.

CHARLES R. KITTLE. JOHN WV. GATES. Vitnesses:

G. E. HARPHAM, S. B. AUSTIN.

